Iran says a US nuclear deal isn't imminent and that its enrichment program must continue

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Senior Iranian officials on Thursday dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States, emphasizing that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country’s nuclear program to continue.

“Iran is sincere about a diplomatic solution that will serve the interests of all sides. But getting there requires an agreement that will fully terminate all sanctions and uphold Iran’s nuclear rights—including enrichment,” Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, wrote in a post on the X.

Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on X that previous U.S. presidents also had “fantasies” destroying Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, and warned that Iran has strong defenses and “clear red lines.”

“Talks serve progress, interests, and dignity, not coercion or surrender,” he said.

The comments came a day after President Donald Trump said he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking Iran to give the U.S. administration more time to push for a new nuclear deal with Tehran. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program, if a deal isn’t reached, while Iranian officials counter they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium.

Other Iranian hard-liners had harsher words for Trump.

“What Trump says about a deal with Iran to dismantle nuclear facilities is a combination of ‘illusion,’ ‘bluff,’ ‘delirium,’ and ’confusion,’” Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander in the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard, said in a post on X.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, which have acrimonious ties for nearly a half-century.

The U.S. and Iran have held five rounds of talks in Oman and Rome over the past few weeks. Last Friday, the most recent round of talks, Omani mediator and Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said Iran and the United States made “ some but not conclusive progress " and that more negotiations are needed.

Trump’s comments came as the head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said “the jury is still out” on negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency were in Tehran this week, and Iranian President President Masoud Pezeshkian was in Oman this week for a state visit,

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, speaks with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said during their meeting in Muscat, Oman, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

BAGHDAD (AP) — The result of last month’s parliamentary elections in Iraq was ratified by the Supreme Federal Court on Sunday, confirming that the party of caretaker prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani won the largest number of seats — but not enough to assure him a second term.

The court confirmed that the voting process met all constitutional and legal requirements and had no irregularities affecting its validity.

The Independent High Electoral Commission submitted the final results of the legislative elections to the Supreme Federal Court on Monday for official certification after resolving 853 complaints submitted regarding the election results.

Al-Sudani's Reconstruction and Development Coalition won 46 seats in the 329-seat parliament. However, in past elections in Iraq, the bloc taking the largest number of seats has often been unable to impose its preferred candidate.

The coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won 29 seats, the Sadiqoun Bloc, which is led by the leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, Qais al-Khazali, won 28 seats, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masoud Barzani, one of the two main Kurdish parties in the country, won 27 seats.

The Taqaddum (Progress) party of ousted former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi also won 27 seats, setting the stage for a contest over the speaker's role.

By convention, the prime minister of Iraq is always Shiite, the president a Kurd, and the parliament speaker Sunni.

Overall, Shiite alliances and lists secured 187 seats, Sunni groups 77 seats, Kurdish groups 56 seats, in addition to 9 seats reserved for members of minority groups.

Al-Sudani came to power in 2022 with the backing of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite parties, but it is not clear whether the coalition will align behind him a second time.

With no single bloc able to form a government alone, political leaders have launched negotiations to build a ruling coalition.

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Martany reported from Irbil, Iraq.

FILE - Voters gather to cast their vote at a ballot station in the country's parliamentary election in Najaf, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

FILE - Iraqi voters gather to cast their vote at a ballot station in the country's parliamentary election in Najaf, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

FILE - Election workers count ballots as they close a polling station, during the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

FILE - Election workers gather parliamentary election ballots after the polls closed in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)